Rationale: This
lesson is designed to improve students reading fluency To have good
reading fluently
means that a student has the ability to read at a fast, even pace and
with
expression. For children to become fluent readers, they must first be
able to
decode words in the text they’re reading. In this lesson students will
read
decodable books over and over again to gain fluency. This lesson
encourages
students to practice reading decodable books fast and smooth. Student’s
will
build fluency by first reading these decodable texts independently and
then
timed by a partner for 1 minute three times.

Materials:

Timers/stopwatches

Class set of book: Monkeys,
Monkeys!

Recording time sheet

White Board and Markers (for teacher’s use)

Speed Reading Record Sheet and Partner Check Sheet

Fluency chart for each student ( A laminated paper
with a
big track, Runner is velcroed on and the
more WPM the closer the runner gets to completing a full circle around
the
track)

Speed
Reading Record:

Name:_________________________
Date:___________

Time:

After 1st read
_______

After 2nd
read _______

After 3rd
read
_______

Partner Check Sheet:

When I take
note of my partners read, he/she can:

After 2nd
After 3rd

1. Remembered more
words _______
_______

2. Read
faster
_______ _______

3. Read
smoother _______
_______

4. Read with
expression _______
_______

Procedures:

1) To introduce the
lesson I will
first explain that in order to become a better reader, we have to be
able to
read quickly, and with expression. "Can anyone tell me what it means to
read fluently? You are absolutely right; it means to read fast and it
also
means to read with expression. When we first begin to read, we
sometimes get
stuck over certain words, but with lots of practice we can read words
easily.
One way we can become better and faster readers is to reread stories
over and
over again. That is what we are going to be doing today!"

2) "To help us with
those
tricky words that we get stuck on we are going to use our cover-up
critters to
help us. Watch how I use my critter to help me read the word. (write
the word stick on the board) "If I am having
trouble with this word, I first cover up everything but the vowel. The
vowel in
this word is 'i'. (use finger and critter to cover up word) "/i/ Next
uncover the letters before the i, but keep the critter on the end of
the
word./s/ /t/ /i/." (uncover rest
of the word) Now I put it all together to read the word.see /s/ /t/ /i/ /k/. stick!""Great
job! Now when you are stuck on a
word, you can use your critter to help you read it! Remember to always
start
with the vowel first."

3) Now I will show
the students
the difference between reading a sentence fluently and not reading it
fluently. I will write the sentence "Bob and Sally went to the
store."
I will read it very slowly at first to show them how a reader who is
not fluent
would read it. "Booob and Saaaalllly went to the ssstttooore." Then I would read it more fluently and faster
to show how a fluent reader would read it. I will read it very
smoothly,
and with expression. "Bob and Sally went to the store." Then I
will
ask, "Did anyone notice the difference in how I read the
sentence?
Could you tell that one was more smooth than the other? Right,
the
smoother reading was a more fluent reading and that's how we want to
read. Is it easier to understand when its read faster and
smoother?
That's right it is! Now I want you to try and read faster and with
expression!"

4) Next, each student
will be
given a copy of Monkeys, Monkeys! I
will perform a book talk saying that"This
book is about a house full of monkeys! Monkeys are very active animals
and they
usually cannot stay still very long. They like to mess with things. So
I wonder
if they are going to get into trouble or mess up anything in this
house. Let's
read and find out."

5) After each student
has read the
book once independently they will get with their reading partner and do
three
separate one minute reads.Students will
time their partner reading and fill out the partner check sheet,
evaluating
their partner on fluency and expression. I will
explain to them that they are going to be given stopwatches to time
their
partners reading. We will discuss the Speed Reading Record and the
Partner
Check Sheet and how to fill them out. "Okay class, we are going to be
timing ourselves reading. We are going to each read the story three
times for
one minute each. Your partner will tell you when the minute is up and
how many
words you read. They will also tell you whether or not you read smooth,
fast,
and with expression. Remember to mark your progress with your runner on
the
track to see how much faster you have read." During this time the
teacher
walks around and notes how each student is doing and answers any
questions the
students may have.

6) Assessment:
During centers, I will pull each student individually for a one minute
read
with the same book. When coming to be evaluated the student will bring
their
Reading Record Sheet and Partner Check sheet for me evaluate and to add
to my
assessments. At the end I will have the
student show me how much their runner has moved and we will move it if
needed.